Read Matthew 1:18-25 with your family.

In first century Palestine, the Hebrew tradition of marriage was you promise yourselves and tell everyone about it, then after one year the wife moves in with her husband. Only after the second part are they allowed to have babies.

Mary and Joseph had only finished the first part, and now Mary was pregnant.

Joseph was upset, and even though he wanted to end the agreement, he didn’t want to hurt Mary.

Angels were messengers, and that was how Joseph found out Mary did nothing wrong and hadn’t set out to upset him.

This story shows how great a man Joseph was. He could have been very mean to Mary and no one would have said a word against him. However, he chose to be kind, and then after the angel’s visit, he chose to be supportive AND the father of Mary’s baby.

We can see how special a father Joseph was to Jesus, because Jesus was always comparing God’s love for us with a father’s love. The only way Jesus would have made that connection is if Joseph had loved Jesus like that first.